Toshiba sends chair into space

If you are a well-known technology company and you want to demonstrate the capabilities of your HD televisions and camcorders – what do you do? If you are Toshiba, you send a chair into space and film it using your very own cameras.The Space Chair project saw an ordinary living room chair sent 98,268 feet (30 km) into the atmosphere using a simple helium balloon.

The ad was shot by Haris Zambarloukos, the cinematographer behind films including Enduring Love and Mamma Mia and was directed by Andy Amadeo, creative director at Grey London.

The shoot was made possible by a custom-built camera rig engineered by John Powell of JP Aerospace, who has successfully sent over 100 balloons into the upper atmosphere. Attached to the rig was a full-sized model chair, which was made from biodegradable balsa wood to meet the four pounds weight limit set by the Federal Aviation Administration for the entire rig.

The rig also carried four GPS systems to record the altitude achieved to within four metres as well as its latitude and longitude. Toshiba explains: "This data was transmitted every 15 seconds back to ground control where it was monitored via a computer satellite system to enable the team to locate the rig once it had fallen back to earth."

Here’s the making of video:

Comments

This looks very similar to Simon Faithfull's Escape Vehicle No 6 from Arts Catalyst's 2004 Airshow: http://www.artscatalyst.org/projects/space/escapevehicle.html

Anab Jain

Nov 16th 2009

We're really flattered that Toshiba recognise the innovation that an artist like Simon Faithful brings to the world of creative possibility. In 2004 we at The Arts Catalyst could see the ground-breaking work he makes﻿ and commissioned his Escape Vehicle No 6 film - see our YouTube at ARTSCAT - a bit less slick but on £5000 budget.

Working at the boundary of science and art, imagination and possibility is just what The Arts Catalyst does everyday! But we'd like to see our artists and our backing the innovative work of artists getting the credit they deserve.

Jo

Nov 16th 2009

Very cool execution!

I did some digging around and apparently the ad is supposed to demonstrate how Toshiba technology can take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.

The campaign was created by Grey London for the REGZA SV LCD TV Series in 2009, Toshiba’s first model to include an LED backlight with local dimming, which they claim will “redefine the armchair viewing experience”.

I'd love to read the brief for this project! I've posted lots of facts about the shoot here, if you're so inclined: http://bit.ly/2LrQH7

Cheers,Jackie

Jackie

Nov 17th 2009

Simon Faithfull should be properly credited for making the original artwork from which this advert is derived. It's pretty much a wholesale copy of his work and yet on Toshiba's own social news website they talk themselves up and it is only someone's comment below that first mentions Simon Faithfull's seminal influence in this profiteering project of yours. I do hope Toshiba is providing lots of support to Simon in his future projects and buying his work for their head offices (at the very least)!

Jon Thomson

Nov 17th 2009

Once again an advertising agency, this time Grey London, is ripping off other people's work. But this time it bites the biscuit, they have 100% remade, sound and image, Simon Faithfull's video.

It's about time the fat cats of the ad world coughed up. There should be an art tax, paid by the ad industry, to fund the work of artists.

this is scandalous! Grey london, what have you to say for yourselves?

h

Nov 18th 2009

So what if the Toshiba ad is like Simon Faithfull's artwork? His work is hardly an original idea itself. People have boon hooking up chairs, cameras and other things to balloons for a very long time. The fact that they went to space is a little more special, but I'm far more impressed by the many people who have lifted up a chair with themselves sitting in it.

Simon

Nov 20th 2009

The problem a lot of people have is not that Toshiba have sent a chair into space - it is that the advert they have created copies elements of Simon's work down to the beeps, and the leg breaking off the chair towards the end (probably done with explosives to ensure the effect)... You only need to watch them both to see that it is only a remake, and not the totally original ideal that both Andy Amadeo at Grey London, and Toshiba are bragging about.

Another problem is that the creative agency Grey London and Toshiba talked with Simon about remaking the work to coincide with the exhibition at London's BFI. This never happened for various reasons, and the next Simon knows about it is the ad on YouTube.

MJC

Dec 3rd 2009

Nothing is original, and it is fine to take inspiration from someone else, but to quote the Grey and Toshiba people in the video...'doing something no-one has done before'? 'showing people something they have never seen before'?how easily these glib lies slip off the tongues of these people! have they no shame? Credit where credit is due you copy cats.'Toshiba, leading innovation' - more apt to say 'Toshiba - following, long after others'